Monday, September 30, 2013

So first off 'Mezcal Monday' will no longer be numbered. This is the 13th week and it is beginning to seem redundant. This is a cocktail I made up a few years ago and I wanted to update it because it is such an approachable, refreshing drink. Mirador translates to balcony (no I don't speak Spanish, but Google does!), and I thought that that name perfectly catches the 'feeling of this drink. If you seen this before, you will notice that I have changed out the mezcal. I was thinking that I wanted a milder, more balanced mezcal when I created this drink and Mina Real (reviewed here...) wasn't available at the time, but it is now... Also I changed the orange liqueur from the delicious Solerno, to the delicious Mandarine Napoleon; the reason is Mandarine Napoleon is a touch richer, a little sweeter. I like both of them, so you pick (You could easily use any fine orange liqueur in their place.). Next, I added bitters to the 'new and improved' Mirador. Any orange, lemon or grapefruit bitter would work and most others would too, but I used Regans Orange--I love those bitters and what a deal. The last point is on the measurements. The reason for 1-1½ oz, 3-5 oz variation is the size of your glass. My large coupe holds 8+ oz's, so I use the 1½ oz, 1½ oz, 5 measurements, if your coupe hold 5 oz's use the other. Now on to the cocktail!:Mirador1-1½ ozMina Real Silver

Place the Cyrus Noble Bourbon and the Ron Miel
in a coffee mug add the boiling water (usually you should use
off boiling water to make tea, but since this is 1/3 Room temp and 2/3
boiling it is perfect.).

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Today is Tequila Tuesday and today we will make a tasty beverage called a Mexico Rose Cocktail withPurasangre Reposado (I wrote it up in TT #10, click to read.).There is not a lot said or known about the Mexico Rose Cocktail except the recipe. It is almost exactly the same as an El Diablo--except the El Diablo has Ginger Beer in it. I like the Mexico Rose, it is tangy and fresh, real easy to drink and pretty to look at. Some recipes call for Grenadine instead of (or along with????) the Creme de Cassis. Thought they are both good, the 1 made with Cassis is much more interesting.The recipe is super simple (you'll have it memorized before even finish reading it.). Mexico Rose Cocktail

So I was thinking mezcal--of course-- and it is now Fall so how about a nice smoky Fall cocktail? I think of leaves turning brown, fireplaces lighting up, the last bonfire / barbecue of Summer, baking spices--those kinds of things.If you happen to follow this blog (thank you!) you may recognize a couple of these ingredients from last weeks 'Mezcal Monday'. The emphasis and ratios are completely different and so is the flavor effect. So here is what I came up with... Smoke N' Honey1 1/2 Oz Don Amado Rustico1 Oz Ron Miel (Honey Rum)3/4 Oz Lemon juice1/4 Oz Amargo Vallet

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

For this weeks "Whiskey Wednesday"
I will share a recipe that is to strong. I am sorry, but it is delicious. Normally when you make a cocktail you want to balance the potency, but I failed with this one . . ..because it is tasty as it is. Both of the ingredients are 90 proof. Like I said, it is to strong, but . . .. I wanted to call it "One & Done" because sometimes you need a bracer and you don't have time for 2--"How about a "One & Done"? Unfortunately with little research I found a drink that has that name (awful drink . . bleh). So I went back to my original, less catchy name: The 90/90 cocktail. It is so named because both of the spirits are 90 proof.... Get it? See I told it wasn't as catchy... Anyways, even if the name isn't catchy, the drink is super tasty, especially if you (like me) enjoy 'Brown, Bitter and Stirred' drinks. Here is the recipe:

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The aromas are intricately spiced, peppercorns, dried herbs, baked agave, oak, grilled pineapple and dried fruits. The scents seem to be lead by earth, minerals and spice.The flavors enter with the fruit dominating--smoke mango, grilled tropical fruits and dried orange zest build to resolve at a merging of the fruit and the spice. It seems almost as if the nose and palate reverse their roles. The nose leads with spice and resolves to fruits. The palate leads with fruits and resolve onto spices. Either way it is very lovely.The finish is a balanced demonstration of both that delicately fades.This is fantastic tequila--big, bold, layered, complex and completely interesting.I recommend this neat, with a sangrita or in a well thought out cocktail to strut its stuff.
Want to check out the other "Tequila Tuesday's" . .click here!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Last week I wrote about Mina Real Repsado(click here!) and promised to make a drink with it this week. To be totally honest with you I made up this drink last week and it was good. The name is the highway from Mexico City (where Amargo VALLET comes from) to Oaxaca (where Mina Real comes from); clever right?I love the way oranges taste with mezcal, but generally OJ makes for a lackluster cocktail ingredient that is where the healthy dose of Amargo VALLET comes in. This is a nice long drink that is refreshing but it still has a lot of flavor. I hope you enjoy as much as I did.135D

1 1/2 OzMina Real Repsado3/4 Oz Amargo Vallet2 Oz Orange JuiceShake and strain into collins glass with fresh iceGarnish with a cherry (I just drop it in, so it is a treat for when I get to the bottom)If you are looking for more Mezcal Monday,click the link

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

For this weeks "Whiskey Wednesday"
we are going for a long complex-yet approachable cocktail.I'll be honest with you, they name came first. I thought it was cheeky: The BourNet, cute right? Besides how awesome is it to mix 2 darling into one cocktail. Since I am being honest . . . this one didn't take much work; it just came together. If you look at this drink it is basically half cocktail half long drink. Bending boundaries, I love it. Here is the recipe:

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Today is Tequila Tuesday and will be a treat / revelation, perhaps . . ..
Lets start with a quote from Cafe Royal Cocktail Book by W.J. Tarling:
"That the cocktail had taken firm root in America is proved by a paper called " Under the Gaslight " in 1879, which notes: " In the morning the merchant, the lawyer, or the Methodist deacon takes his cocktail. Suppose it is not properly compounded ? The whole day's proceedings go crooked because the man himself feels wrong from the effects of an unskilfully mixed drink." "

The reason for the quote (other than it being cool) is the connotation of America as the 'cocktail guiding light' (at that time) when you see this drink from the Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, that was published in 1937, you will see the irony that I am trying to convey.

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
I garnish with a thin slice of lemon floating.

Does that recipe remind you of anything? A Margarita perhaps?
The irony is this book was published in 1937. The earliest 'verified' Margarita recipe was 1941. Keep in mind W. J. Tarling was an English bartender in London, and this recipe was so well known in 1937 that he included it in his book of cocktails.
While it is true that "the cocktail had taken firm root in America is proved", the impact of Europe on the cocktail is undervalued.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Mina Real Repsado is from a traditional Oaxacan palenque with
an 11 generation history of distillers creating mezcal with nothing but all natural ingredients and expert technique.I wrote up Mina Real Silver in Mezcal Monday #1 (click for more info) the reposado start the exact same way and then in put into barrels that have previously held brady and rested (that's is what 'reposado' means) for a short period of time.In this period several things occur: 1. Oak impact; the flavors of the barrel--the wood--are introduced to the mezcal and marry. 2. Evaporative concentration; some of the liquid evaporates and the remaining liquid is concentrated. 3. Reactive oxidation; the oils, acids, proteins-etc, change under the influence of time merge and evolve into something new.This definitely from the same cut as Mina Real Silver! The
aroma shows roasted peppers (bell & poblano), dried
fruits, fried bread, dried nuts, oxidized mango (especially the flesh that you gnaw off of the seed),
carnauba wax, layered-earthy minerals and kilned ceramics.In a creamy mouth feel the flavors begin at
the
aromas but build quickly to shaved Mexican chocolate and milk chocolate, smoke dried tropical fruit and --for lack of a better term- salt (specifically Himalayan Pink Salt). These all deliberate in a supple structure that is sweet, iterate and vivacious.The finish shows flashes of
the
flavors/aromas with the creaminess cleanly dawdling.This is wonderful mezcal to sip neat--especially if you have an unbeliever with you to share it. A tip: Let it sit a second before you sniff it. It come off a bit brusk if you sniff right after you pour--and that is not the case at all when you re-approach.Click the link to see more Mezcal Monday!Tune in next week for Mezcal Monday and I will show you a few cocktails with Mina Real Reposado.You can also check out and follow Mina Real on Facebook here, and on twitter here. Special thanks to their importer Haas Brothers.